It all began in August 2018. I saw a posting in one of the Facebook groups for people living in France. They were looking for individuals who either had moved or were in the process of moving from the US. They wanted to film their story for broadcast on their television program on HGTV. So I applied.
A couple of months later I was interviewed by the casting director in New York City via Skype. Several interviews later, she submitted my “story” to the program staff and I was selected.
The film crew flew in from London at the end of April and filmed for five days. The program needs a “sidekick” to the main character, so they flew in my friend Randy Tudor from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Randy advised me on the purchase of my house as he has a lot of experience building homes. He also came with me in February when I left Atlanta to help manage the cat, luggage and getting settled in, so he was a perfect choice.
I haven’t been able to talk about this publicly until now as the air date was only recently determined. The program airs rather late (10:30 PM Eastern time) but I believe will be possible to view later either on their website or via YouTube.
They also recruited my real estate agent, Chantal Mengin-Vogt. Randy fell in love with Chantal at first sight and we had a great time in the process.
I have no idea how it all turned out as I won’t be able to see the episode until a few days later after the showing. Sadly, it is blocked here in France. But tune in if you are interested. Footage includes aerial views of my home and village.
The program is entitled “A Francophile in Montréal” (Season 146, Episode 8). Let me know what you think!
No doubt there are any number of loyal followers to this Blog. For my part, I happened upon the HGTV episode only recently, a full two years following the actual events. It will be fun catching up with l’aventure française and I hope to learn some important tips for uprooting my established American life and returning alla bella Italia, where I was stationed with the U.S. Air Force for three years. Although there are undoubtedly particular challenges unique to each host country, the transition and assimilation process is likely shared by many. To all, bonne chance!!
Hi, Dan. Thanks for your comment. I understand bureaucracy in Italy makes the transfer (and living) a bit more difficult. As a result, I know people have decided to live elsewhere, including France. At the same time, if that’s where you want to be, maybe it won’t feel like a hassle. There are definitely pluses and minuses to licong outside the US as I’ve indicated in my blog postings. Perhaps the biggest thing for me is missing family and friends. Otherwise, I couldn’t be happier being in France. It’s a great place to live.